Friedrichshain Photo Gallery

The Fotogalerie Friedrichshain on Helsingforser Platz is Berlin's oldest municipal photo gallery and, at its founding in 1985, the first GDR gallery devoted exclusively to photography. In the final years of East Germany it offered rare room for documentary and personal imagery outside state commissions - many now-prominent East German photographers had first exhibitions here. After reunification the Kulturring association took over in 2002 and continues the program in the same spirit: monthly shows, often featuring younger positions, sometimes with retrospective looks at the East German photo scene. Located right at S-Bahnhof Warschauer Strasse, admission is free. Anyone exploring Friedrichshain beyond the party bohemia finds a quiet, curatorially serious place here.